The quarantine on two barns at Gulfstream Park imposed after a horse died from unknown circumstances Tuesday night at the track has been lifted after tests for Equine herpesvirus type 1 came back negative, according to Dr. Dionne Benson, the Chief Veterinary Officer for The Stronach Group. The the quarantine prompted a number of scratches on the Wednesday card.
Benson said that a filly had gotten loose on the track yesterday morning, and run back to the barn area, entering a barn that was not hers. She was walked back to her barn, and was discovered down in her stall last night by a security guard.
“Late last night, @1stracing @GulfstreamPark was notified that a horse stabled onsite fell ill exhibiting neurological symptoms and was humanely euthanized,” said Benson in the early afternoon Wednesday. “Out of caution, the barns that have been affected have been quarantined. More information will follow when necropsy results are in.”
“The quarantine is lifted,” said Benson. “There is no sign of any communicable disease.”
Earlier in the day, Benson had said that Stronach Group company policy had directed an abundance of caution toward keeping horses safe. “This was done in the consideration of safety for the horse and welfare for the entire horse population,” she said. “We did not see the incident. It was not reported to us earlier in the day.”
She said that additional precautions were being taken at Gulfstream because of an outbreak of EHV-1 in the show horse population near Ocala.
“We previously had dialed back our health certificate requirements from 72 hours to 24 hours,” said Benson, explaining that horses arriving at the track must now have been seen and certified as healthy within 24 hours before arrival, while the typical window is 72 hours. “So that gives us an extra added protection of those two days.”
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